Poquoson Council Blasts Roads Bid

POQUOSON — A regional transportation plan may need a jump after the council rejects it.

A proposed regional transportation authority was blasted Tuesday night by the Poquoson City Council, which voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject it.

The rejection by Poquoson leaves the transportation authority two localities short of approval.

Mayor Gordon Helsel said the proposed taxing authority is an act of "sheer arrogance" by members of the General Assembly after a similar plan was roundly rejected by Hampton Roads voters five years ago.

"I just think it's a horrendous bill and I think they should've taken care of it in Richmond and not passed it on to localities," Helsel said.

The proposed taxing authority came out of a bill in this year's General Assembly and is expected to generate $168 million a year for road projects through a host of taxes and fees. It will cost the average household in Hampton Roads about $120 a year, according to estimates.

Funds for the plan would be raised through taxes and fees on buying, licensing and registering vehicles. Other taxes would be tacked onto fuel and vehicle repairs as well as real estate sales.

Poquoson joined York County in rejecting the transportation plan. The proposed taxing authority has enough population in five cities that have approved it -- 51 percent of the Hampton Roads population is needed for approval -- but seven of the 12 localities need to pass it before it goes into effect.

The five cities that have voted to create the authority include Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Williamsburg.

Poquoson Council member Gene Hunt said he doesn't believe the proposed taxing authority is the best plan Virginia can get.

"If this is the best we can get," he said, "then I question what we're doing in Richmond."

Hunt added that roads are the state's responsibility, not a single region such as Hampton Roads or northern Virginia. *

HOW YOUR LOCALITIES VOTED

Seven of 12 local cities and counties -- making up a majority of the region's population -- must OK the transportation authority in order for it to happen.